Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Pittsburgh Mills
I took a day off work yesterday to burn some remaining vacation days, shop for a few remaining Christmas gifts, and have the tires rotated on my car. I bought my tires about two years ago from Sears, and tire rotations were included in the price. I usually go to the Sears at Ross Park Mall for my tire rotations, but I decided to try out the Sears at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. Someone that used to work with me mentioned that Pittsburgh Mills is not that busy, so that is why I decided to try the Sears there. I arrived at the Sears around 9:00AM and to my delight, there were no vehicles in any of the service bays. Quite different from Ross Park mall, which is usually busy. Maybe because it was a weekday instead of the weekend. It only took them about one hour to rotate my tires and change the oil, very quick.
The Galleria Mall was designed differently that other malls I have been to. Ross Park Mall, The Mall at Robinson, South Hills Village, Century III, Monroeville Mall, all have the same look to them. (Yes, I actually have shopped at all of these malls. Strange for a guy, right?) The Galleria is a one story mall, so it was difficult to compare the size to a two story mall. It had many of the same anchor stores like Sears, JCPenney, and Macy's. Inside, there were alternating areas of carpeted floor, and wood flooring. Benches and sitting areas were artistic, colorful and geometric at the same time. Outside of the mall had a lot of restaurants and big box stores like Lowes, Walmart, etc. It reminded me of the whole Robinson shopping area without the traffic. If you live in the area, everything that you could possibly need is there, all in one place. I am not sure if I will visit again, but it was a nice change of pace.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Janelle Hall Dance Video
A charity event called "Dancing With The Celebrities of Pittsburgh" took place this weekend. The 3 major TV stations each had a few of their TV news anchors participating. To my delight and viewing pleasure, WTAE posted a video clip of Janelle Hall's dance. As I have mentioned before in previous posts, Janelle Hall is my favorite female TV news anchor in Pittsburgh. She is tall, attractive, and I absolutely love her bubbly on-air personality. Janelle sometimes will guest news anchor on WDVE in the morning and here she shows more of her appealing personality on the radio. Some will argue that KDKA's Sonni Abatta is hotter, but not me.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Trib Writer Bashes Blogging
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Goodbye and Best Wishes to PittGirl and TheBurghBlog
Today is one of the saddest days in Pittsburgh, the Blogosphere, and the Pittsburgh Blogosphere. Anonymous blogger PittGirl, has shutdown her popular blog, TheBurghBlog. Both the PostGazette and PopCityMedia reveal in e-mails from PittGirl, that her identity had been compromised, which could have resulted in her losing her job. Sadly, PittGirl had no choice but to shut down her blog.
I will definitely miss TheBurghBlog. PittGirl's posts always put a smile on my face. She has done so much for Pittsburgh, bloggers, and Pittsburgh Bloggers. Although PittGirl joked about everything Pittsburgh, she did it because she truly loves everything Pittsburgh. She inspired everyday Joe/Joe-ette The Plumbers to blog, and unknowingly united people as minions/fans. PittGirl, Thank You and Best Wishes.
Winter Weather Hyping
- Multi-day accumulation totals - if the accumulation amount for one day is too small, provide an accumulation today for more than one day. This increases the accumulation total, but you have to remember it is spread over several days, not one day.
- 30 second commercial teasers - always play 30 second teaser commercials hinting at impending doom, school closings, etc, but don't really tell the whole story yet. Tell the viewer they have to wait for the next scheduled newscast.
- Live report from the snowiest place in the area outside of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh is located in Allegheny County. If the snow forecast for Allegheny County is too small, have a reporter travel outside of Allegheny County (at least an hour drive) and broadcast a live report of the "horrible" conditions.
- Report accumulation totals from an untreated surface like an empty parking lot - To make it look worse than it really is, have the live broadcast with a reporter showing the accumulation total from an untreated surface like an empty parking lot. An untreated surface will have more snow that a treated, well traveled road.
Hyping up the winter weather is one of my pet peeves with the local media. Just think how bad it will be when a real snow storm hits.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Mark Cuban Charged with Insider Trading
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Hello Old Man Winter
Thursday, November 13, 2008
OneCare is One Mess
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
LLBean Open at Ross Park Mall
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Patch Tuesday
Patch Tuesday is the second Tuesday of each month, the day on which Microsoft releases security patches. For November 2008, there will only be 2 patches released by Microsoft.
Monday, November 10, 2008
PittGirl Interview
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Hood Happenings
Friday, November 07, 2008
Downsize
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Lady Heather
When I got home from work today, I was wondering what my daily blog post would be for today. TV and CSI to the rescue. Lady Heather, one of the most memorable recurring characters, returned to tonight's episode of CSI. The end of the show leaves the impression that Grissom and Lady Heather finally hook up. I have lost some interest in CSI since a few of the major characters/actors have left the show. However, the trailers with Lady Heather coaxed me into watching.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Pittsburgh Penguins Introduce Third Jersey
The Pittsburgh Penguins will introduce a third team jersey today. The jersey and uniform are the same light blue color pattern that the Penguins wore in last season’s NHL Winter Classic against the Buffalo Sabres on New Year’s Day. Here is a link to the history of the team uniform. I think the jersey is pretty cool.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Election Day
I took the advice from most of the news outlets and avoided voting before work and after work. I left work around high noon and arrived at my designated polling location around 12:30 PM. I did not have to wait at all, I was in and out in about 10 minutes. The Ivotronic voting machines where a new experience for me. Pressing the big red button at the top of the screen is supposed to officially cast your ballot. It flashed for what seemed like an eternity and then finally the flashing red VOTE button went out and the screen changed with a confirmation message saying I was done. I was hungry so I went to a nearby Wendy's and encountered a line that was longer than the non existent line to vote. The Wendy's was understaffed, at the registers and the food prep area, and the employee's main focus was the drive thru line. I avoided waiting in one line, but then ran into another, oh well.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Election Eve
Sunday, November 02, 2008
NaBloPoMo
November is National Blog Posting Month, NaBloPoMo. Silly me, I missed posting yesterday. I was going to talk about Pitt's quadruple overtime win over Notre Dam, but it is old news today. The Cincinnati Bungle's (as the late Myron Cope would say) won their first game of this season. I watched the highlights and it was painfully obvious how ugly their uniforms are. I looked up their uniform on Wikipedia, and they wore their alternate uniform, which was bright orange with black tiger stripes. The orange is just too annoying. I think their helmets are cool though.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
WTAE Decreases My Janelle Time
WTAE TV Channel 4 recently re-shuffled their weekday anchors. I did not realize until this morning that it also affected the weekend morning newscasts. Janelle Hall previously anchored the morning weekend newscasts solo. Now she is co-anchoring with Sheldon Ingram. I am bummed, my "Janelle Time" has been decreased. Saturday is the day after Friday high school football games, so more "Janelle Time" was cut out due to High School Football highlights. Nothing against Sheldon Ingram, but I am not in favor of this move.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Mark Madden Returns to Radio 10/13/2008
Anyone who follows sports talk radio in Pittsburgh has been asking "When is Mark Madden returning?". Well, the answer is Monday, 10/13/20008, on 105.9 FM, WXDX, from 3 to 6 PM. See the screenshot from WXDX's website.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Pittsburgh Penguins 2008-2009 Info
The Pittsburgh Penguins season opening game will be this Saturday, 10/4, against the Ottawa Senators in the great country of Sweden. Here is a link to the official Pittsburgh Penguins website where you will find the 2008-2009 schedule, and TV/Radio info. Here are two of the best blogs that cover the Penguins: 1) The Pensblog - this blog is run by a group of young Pens Fans. They are known for their reader submitted Photoshops, humorous game analysis, and are the originators of the WWGRD phenomena; and 2) Faceoff Factor - this blog is more cerebral with their game analysis. Let's Go Pens!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
I Like Biker Girls
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Mark Madden Returns to Radio in October
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Pirate Parrot Being Manny Ramirez
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Lights Out
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Max Payne Movie, 10/17/2008
Saturday, September 06, 2008
2009 Gary Fisher and Trek Bikes
Friday, August 29, 2008
Pitt Panther Football Info
The Pitt Panther Football Team will begin the 2008-2009 season tomorrow at Heinz Field against Bowling Green. Here are two links to keep you up to date on what is happening this year:
- Official Pitt Panther Football Home Page - you will find the schedule, roster, and broadcast info here.
- Pitt Blather - a blog that covers all sports at Pitt. IMHO, the best blog coverage of Pitt Sports.
- 3WS, WWSW, 94.5 FM, Pittsburgh
- Fox Sports 970 Pittsburgh, WBGG, 970 AM, Pittsburgh
- WBUT, 1050 AM, Butler
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tool Time
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Random Reps
It has been a few weeks since I posted. I am trying something new here called "Random Reps". Random for random thoughts. Reps (repetitions) to keep with a fitness theme. Sometimes there are times when I do not have enough material to post about one topic, so I do not post. "Random Reps" will help me post when I have a number of small items to talk about. So here goes my first "Random Reps":
- I spent the last 2 weekends applying driveway sealer to my driveway. IMHO, my driveway is the best looking one in my development. The weather has been perfect for this as there has been very little rain.
- Over the past month, I have gained five pounds, but my body fat has also increased two percent. I noticed last week that I had to loosen my belt one notch. My plan is to watch my diet more closely and increase my cardio.
- Between my last post on 8/7 and now, I celebrated my 45th birthday. WooHoo!
- I replaced the standard handlebar grips on my mountain bike with Ergon GC2 grips. I tried them out on 8/3. They seem to help some with the handlebar palsy, but not entirely. I have not been biking because I have been working on my driveway the last two weekends
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Happy Birthday to Sidney Crosby
Happy Birthday to Sidney Crosby, who is 21 today. Sidney wears the number 87 on his jersey, and his birthday is 8/7/1987. It is very easy to remember. Thank the Hockey Gods for letting the Pittsburgh Penguins win the NHL 2005 Draft Lottery. In honor of Sidney's birthday, I have set Blogger to publish this post at 8:07 AM.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
ESPN Radio 1250 Announces Line Up
TR2N, Tron 2
Disney showed a 3 minute proof of concept video of Tron 2 (TR2N) at the Comic Con last weekend. The video was an updated version of the famous Light Cycle duel. Here is a link to a video that was captured on someone's cell phone. A lot of the bootleg videos have been removed from the Internet, but I was glad to find this one, even if the video is small and not the best quality. The release of the video was a total surprise, and the audience went nuts. I remember when Tron was originally released. Some people just did not get it. At that time, I thought it was a ground breaking movie. This was only test footage, so I am really looking forward to seeing TR2N when it is officially released.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Randy Pausch, 1960-2008
I will admit that before his death, I did not follow his story that closely. Today, I finally had a chance to watch the whole 76 minute video “The Last Lecture”. Wow, it was truly inspirational. Watch for yourself.
My thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Hard To Recycle Event, Sat, 7/26, Mall At Robinson
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
KDKA TV Weather Staff Changes
Saturday, July 19, 2008
4 Year Mugshot
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Return of Mark Madden ?
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported yesterday that former ESPN 1250 sports talk host Mark Madden may join WXDX FM. Madden was fired from ESPN 1250 after making derogatory remarks about Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
What about the time slot that was vacated on ESPN 1250 when Madden was fired? No decision has been made yet, but it seems like ESPN 1250 would like to have a permanent solution for their afternoon drive time slot near the opening of Steelers training camp.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Love Hate
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Let's Fat Finger The Dog Kennel
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Loopy
I got up early this AM so I could ride my bike at North Park. I left my house around 9:45AM and it started to drizzle. As I arrived at North Park, the rain became more steady to the point where I did not want to ride. I decided to tough it out and waited until about 10:10AM, then the rain finally stopped. The rain had scared away the usual amount of walkers and bikers, so I took advantage of this and knew I would be riding with very little traffic. Another biker said a friendly "Good Morning" to me as I unloaded my bike from my car. I could sense she was happy as I was about the light traffic. I forgot how many loops I completed, but each loop was 1.4 miles, maybe 4 loops at the minimum, meaning 5.6 miles minimum. I felt pretty good except at the end of each loop, my right elbow tingled like I had hit my funny bone. I think part of it is the "death grip" I use on my handlebars. I have to learn to relax more, meaning ease up on the grips. I am thinking of replacing my standard bike grips with some grips from Ergon, which are supposed to be ergonomic and rated/reviewed very positively. I am tired now, not so much from riding, but from the combination of waking up early and doing physical activity in the AM. I am more used to working out late in the PM. Happy Trails!
Monday, June 23, 2008
I Want My DTV, Maybe Later
- I am hoping the government either 1) allows consumers to re-apply for the coupons or 2) extend the expiration date for the coupons.
- There is not a large variety of options to choose from to buy in store. There are plenty of choices on line, but they are more expensive. The choices in store are as follows: 1) Wal Mart – Magnavox; 2) Radio Shack – Digital Stream; 3) Best Buy and Circuit City – LG model branded as Insignia at Best Buy, and Zenith at Circuit City. Wal Mart is supposed to have an RCA model, which I have read is the best of the bunch so far, but I have not seen them in any of the 3 Wal Marts I checked. There are also reports that some stores have shortages of the DTV converter boxes.
- A $40 model is supposed to be released this summer from Dish Network called Echostar. All models currently available in store are either $50 or $60.
I took the suggestion of a writer who wrote about problems with the DTV converter box coupon program and asked a relative, my brother, who does not need a converter box, to go ahead and apply for the coupons.
I do not watch a lot of TV, so I do not need cable TV or satellite TV. I am happy with watching the free major television networks. Signing off.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sunday AM Bike Ride
I read that there was a bike/hike trail near the Pool and the Pie Traynor baseball field, so I headed there to discover that a charity event called “Ride and Stride” was in progress. More crowds of people, but not was crowded as the loop around the Lake. I could not find the trail, so I opted for the one way, paved S. Ridge Rd. The loop was about 1.0 miles long, and I completed at least 3 loops.
I am still a novice. I was easily spooked by cars and other bikers passing me. I still need practice shifting gears at the right time and gaining confidence while riding. So, how is my elbow tendonitis doing? I may have tweaked it a little, so I am going to rest it for a few days. It was a great day for a Sunday ride!
Saturday, June 07, 2008
WVU President Will Resign September 1
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Penguins Win Game 5, 4-3 in Triple OT, Stay Alive
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Mark Madden Removed from 1250 ESPN
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
XP SP3 Killed My PC or Not?
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Hop in the Cordoba baby, we're going dancing with Lord Stanley!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
WVU Faculty Votes for President Resignation
A new group at WVU, called the Mountaineers for Integrity and Responsibility (MIR), has an online petition that you can sign requesting the resignation of Garrison. MIR is made up of faculty, students and alumni at the university.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
WVU Faculty Votes to Oust the Prez
- Mylan Inc. Executive Heather Bresch is the daughter of West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin.
- WVU President Mike Garrison is a longtime friend of Heather Bresch.
- Mike Garrison once worked as a Mylan lobbyist.
- Mylan's chairman, Milan "Mike" Puskar, has given tens of millions to the university, which named its football stadium for him.
Garrison has stated previously that he will not resign. Last week Provost Gerald Lang and business school Dean R. Stephen Sears resigned from their administrative posts. Both intend to continue teaching at WVU. Will Garrison step down gracefully or will he be forced to resign? He seems more interested in his own personal reputation (which is already tarnished) instead of WVU's reputation.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Workout Rewind
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
WVU Panel Reports Poor Judgment in Awarding MBA to Heather Bresch
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette highlighted key findings from the 95 page report. Phrases like “poor judgment”, “failures of processes”, and “failures of leadership” are included in the report. The 95 page (4.4 MB) report can be downloaded from the Post Gazette here. Course titles, grades, and credits have been un-highlighted with black marker.
When I first heard about this story, I thought there would be a cover up. I am glad that the investigative panel did not try to cover this up. I am disappointed that a major university gave in to political pressure. I, like most people, am very proud to say that I worked very hard to earn my college degree.
Heather Bresch’s WVU MBA Was BS
The panel was formed after a Dec. 21 Post Gazette article that questioned how university officials granted the degree in October, almost 10 years after Ms. Bresch left the program, even though official records showed she was 22 credits short. University records show that 22 credits were added to Ms. Bresch’s transcript, almost half of the 48 credits required for the degree. Changes including adding six courses with grades that previously were not on her record and changing two incomplete courses to letter grades.
Ms. Bresch stated to several media outlets that she made arrangements in September 1998 with WVU finance professor Paul Speaker, the head of the M.B.A program at the time, to substitute work experience for 10 credits she needed to graduate.
I do not know Ms. Bresch or have a grudge against Mylan Inc or WVU. I am a proud Pitt M.B.A. graduate who earned my degree the honest way, with hard work. I grew up in a two bedroom apartment with my two brothers and my parents. My parents combined income was so low in high school that I qualified for free school lunches. I lived off campus at home to save money when I attended Pitt for my B.S. degree. I went back to Pitt for my M.B.A. degree because I could not find a job after earning my B.S. degree. My family did not have any business or political connections to help me. I worked hard to earn both of my degrees. Shame on Ms. Bresch and WVU.